The Guardians chose Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana with the first overall pick of the 2024 amateur draft. Bazzana becomes the first second baseman to ever go 1-1 in the draft, as well as the first Australian-born player taken first overall. This is also the first time the Cleveland organization has ever had the top selection in the draft, as the Guardians beat the odds last December to win the draft lottery.
Cleveland plays its cards close to the vest about its intentions with the top pick, as several names were linked to the Guards, including some prospects a bit further down the draft board. There was some thought that the Guardians might go with a somewhat less-regarded prospect who would take a below-slot signing bonus (the 1-1 pick has an assigned slot value of $10,570,600), so that the Guards could spread their $18,334,000 bonus pool around to multiple players.
While it remains to be seen how much Bazzana will land with his bonus, it ended up being something of a chalk pick for the Guardians. Fangraphs, Baseball America, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, and The Athletic’s Keith Law all ranked Bazzana as the second-best prospect in this year’s draft class, while MLB Pipeline ranked Bazzana at the top of their list.
Bazzana (who turns 22 in August) had a handful of pro games under his belt already, appearing in 19 games with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League from 2018-20. During his three seasons at Oregon State, Bazzana crushed NCAA pitching to the tune of 45 homers and a .360/.497/.660 slash line over 904 plate appearances. He added an MVP-level performance in the Cape Cod League last summer, with a 1.037 OPS in 158 PA for Falmouth.
Pundits are united in their praise of Bazzana’s hitting ability, citing his advanced approach, bat speed, hard contact rates, and plate discipline. (The latter factor might’ve particularly attracted the Guardians, who have long prized batters who can put the ball in play and avoid strikeouts.) Bazzana is already starting to show more power, with 28 of his 45 Oregon State home runs coming in his most recent college season. Beyond what he can do at the plate, Bazzana’s plus speed makes him a threat on the basepaths, stealing 66 bases in 77 attempts in college.
Defense is a bit of a question mark, as second base has been something of a default position since Bazzana is considered both too athletic to be a first base-only type. Baseball America’s scouting report notes that he could potentially play the outfield or even center field due to his athleticism, and the presence of Andres Gimenez at second base in Cleveland indicate that the Guardians could be open to testing Bazzana at other positions. That said, there is a consensus that he’ll be able to hit whenever he ends up on the field.
The Guardians had a 76-88 record in 2023, and would’ve received the 10th overall pick if the lottery picks adhered directly to last season’s team records. Cleveland had only a two percent chance of winning the first overall pick, and the Reds (who were 82-80 in 2023) had another surprising dose of lottery luck in winning the second pick, making it quite a night for Ohio’s two Major League teams.
In the second year of the draft lottery’s existence, the Guardians’ surprise win underscores the element of randomness that has now been introduced into the draft process, and the vagaries involved in the league’s desire to curb tanking. Cleveland has been one of baseball’s most consistent winning franchises over the last decade, yet its one-year blip in form in 2023 has now paid off handsomely in the form of a blue-chip prospect like Bazzana. The Guards enter the All-Star break back in first place in the AL Central, so both the present and the future are looking bright in Cleveland.
I hope Bazzana has a great career, so on amd so forth… but it’d be funny to see him play for Savannah one day!
If they didn’t take Caglianone, I wanted Bazzana. Really enjoy that OSU work ethic
Bazzana really appeals to me…
It would also look good in a fruit salad
Kinda figured that one.
The Guardians like contact hitters. Hit the jackpot with Steven Kwan.
Same school.
Condon has been mentioned as having an Aaron Judge ceiling. Bazzana has been compared to Jason Kipnis. Cleveland chose a Kipnis over a possible Judge. Cleveland hasn’t developed a power-hitting outfielder since Grady Sizemore. And they passed on Condon. Let that sink in for a minute.
Condon was my top choice too, but I’m also thrilled about Bazzana. But I don’t love your reasoning.
It’s shortsighted to take a guy based on position, especially when a lot of these guys could end up at different positions down the line anyway. So their past inability to develop a power hitting outfielder shouldn’t matter (and they didn’t even draft Sizemore anyway). Drafting for positional need is how the Mariners took Jeff Clement third overall in one of the best draft classes of all time.
And if you’re picking one potential comp for a guy and basing your entire draft opinion on that then I don’t know what to tell you lol
They didn’t draft Sizemore, but they developed him, which is what I said. Thanks for your unsolicited opinion anyway. I disagree so you’ll just have to live with that fact.
My point is that Sizemore had played over two years in the Expos’ system when Cleveland acquired him.
Every comment here is an unsolicited opinion, yours (and mine) included. I’m sorry that you can’t handle someone disagreeing with your opinion but I hope that you’re enjoying the draft.
Hey Jason kipnis is still pretty good especially for Cleveland fans
I think the chase utley or Brian dozier comps are better
Chase Utley is a 99.9 percentile outcome lol we’d be thrilled if Bazzana had a career like his
Kip didn’t have a very long peak but he was really good for a handful of years. You can certainly dream about Bazzana’s ceiling… but Kipnis had a far better career than most top-10 picks and that isn’t a bad floor for a guy.
Never mention that draft pick again.
Ouch..as a Mariners fan hearing that name again Jeff Clement hurts.
The thing is nobody knows how these players are going to turn out. These are all guesses.
So having such an opinionated comment at this time is just very jumping the gun. Bazzana could develope into a better hitter than Condon for all we know. Let’s give these guys a few years of development first
Please no more Kipnisssssss
He at least won’t be a Dolan’s discount. The Tribe did the right thing and did not try to get cute and select Weatherholt #1 in order to save money by under slotting him at #1. Bazzana is the best player in the draft. Well done!!!
Even if they had taken Wetherholt first, it just would have been to take some of that slot money and reallocate it toward going overslot on someone else. They’ll use their entire draft pool and they’ll probably go 5% over it too, which is the most they can spend without losing future picks.
They weren’t just going to pocket the extra money.
My point was don’t scrimp at the top because it isn’t a highly rated draft after the first 10 picks
Never forget the tribe never forget the Indians
They’ll always be the Indians to me. Not because I’m full of hate, it’s just a better name and the Tribe specifically is the coolest nickname for a team imo.
To even go over slot for all their draft picks they had over 19 million to spend.
Very pleased to see a fellow Aussie selected. I sincerely hope he lives up to his potential in the Majors.
Used to be a league in Aussie land years ago during the winter where both Aussies and the few Aussie-Americans would play a short season during the offseason. It was broadcast in the US, forget the channel was on, Probably espn. Long ago, least 20y.
More Aussies in game than many think, minors at least. boston seems to always have at least 1 kid in their system. They signed a young pitcher fall of ’23, had to look name up. Adam Bates pitching currently in rookie ball.
Like seeing people from all over the world enjoying “our” game and for it to be spread about.
There is still a professional league down here that plays a short season from November to I think late Jan early Feb? We get quite a few Phillies prospects down here in Adelaide and the manger Chris Adamson is a bench coach at the AAA iron pigs.
Ronald Acuna Jr played a year at Melbourne. Shota imanaga played here too a few years back.
Definitely exciting. Hopefully this helps draw more Aussie fans and players in the future.
Hopefully he doesn’t share his PIN code with his translator!
It’s going to be bonzer!
I’m glad they didn’t overthink it. Bazzanna was the right choice for Cleveland. Fits their profile better. Cleveland hasn’t drafted and developed a pure power hitter since Thome, Ramirez and Belle.
Despite their history of being hesitant to bring prospects along, I think the front office has shown a recent tendency to be aggressive. Would love to see him debut at Lake County or Akron.
I don’t know if MLBTR will allow this, however, this is a magnificent article about Travis Bazzana.
foxsports.com.au/baseball/mlb-draft-2024-who-is-tr…
Another great contact hitter to slaughter my White Sox when they play the Guardians lol
In all seriousness though, Cleveland will develop him into a great hitter.
I wonder if Travis will be able to handle center field since he can’t have 3rd 2nd or 1st
Can he play shortstop? He would surely be better than rocchio
If they don’t love him to center, they will most likely move giminez to short and start him at 2B
I don’t think he is considered a legitimate option anywhere in the INF, aside from 2B.
Maybe they give him a shot in the OF but I think they they focus at 2B.
Cleveland really likes Gimenez at 2B but he can easily handle SS. They can either slide him over or possibly even trade him. Rocchio or Martinez might be viable longterm options at SS, though both have quite a bit to prove at the major league level
Gimenez came up as a shortstop. He will go back to shortstop when banzzana plays second base. Thanks for playing.
Still don’t understand why the #1 pick deserves 10 million dollars having done nothing on an MLB team
If he doesn’t like it he has no real options for a career elsewhere that would pay what he would make for an MLB team if he really is outstanding
This is why union labor is so vital.
Not all make it and it’s their one guaranteed payday. As you said though, what is their option? Stay in school if you can and return to the craft. Teams want to lock in the player they believe is best for their organization so they usually pay.
Cm1
Yikes. Another person brainwashed by capitalism
If these players were free agents they would get offers much bigger than what they get in the draft. The draft LIMITS what they can receive.
Right.. so again, without a salary cap, the richest big market teams will dominate even more by signing every #1 themselves. All sports attempt to maintain some type of competitive balance through the draft.
Brainwashed by capitalism….where the hell did THAT come from? Don’t bother…we know.
ag4t
“Brainwashed by capitalism….where the hell did THAT come from? Don’t bother…we know.”
Yes. It comes from the truth.
Capitalism requires that people earn below their actual value. The difference between a laborer’s salary and their value is known as “profit”. Profit is what drives capitalism.
But go ahead with “it’s not fair if people are paid fairly” if that’s what floats your boat.
Again, a salary cap mostly serves to limit player salaries. It’s right there in the name
I’m in favor of increased revenue sharing to level the playing field, both in MLB and the real world
There’s no limit to player’s salaries in baseball as theres no cap. Can’t blame capitalism when baseball already has it. Again, if you’re a big market teams fan, sure, eliminate the draft and watch every NY, LA, etc buy every best player, so the small market teams will never be able to be competitive. Every major sport has a cap, baseball doesn’t. That alone should make an anti capitalist like yourself very happy.
greed is what drives capitalism
Greed drives everyone.
Rod
Nah. Just the greedy
You clearly failed at all levels of school. The MLBPA is completely free to decertify itself at any time and make all of its members immediate free agents. They can even start their own league.
Why don’t they do that if “capitalism” is holding them down?
Capitalism is still the best , sorry comrade it’s the strong that survive and thrive
ag42
“There’s no limit to player’s salaries in baseball as theres no cap. ”
This is false
The draft is capped as are international signings
Technically, those are signing bonuses, not actual salary. They can make as much as the team wants to pay them in salary, but their signing bonuses are limited.
Lay
“They can make as much as the team wants to pay them”
This is the key
They have no ability to negotiate that.
Yeah these poor guys are just skimming by. You make me think of the song by Steely Dan “Only A fool would say that”
Heard a long interview a few weeks ago , interviewer was Grant Paulson.
Travis is a mad scientist like an Einstein.
His intelligence level combined with athletic prowess will make him an all star if not hofer
Must listen
I get you take the best player available especially when you are at the top of the order but hopefully he can play OF where help is really needed
Ohio rigged the lottery!
The Reds could have had Charlie Condon but instead they drafted Chase Burns who has a Tommy John surgery in his near future. There is a reason the Reds haven’t won a playoff series in 30 years.
Bazzana born in Australia, Can Ex Yankee, scout, Pat Kelly teach him a sweeper and then he becomes a pitcher also?
Some say the Sweeper isn’t a new pitch, if that’s the case why did dozens start throwing it again? Who caused the Revolution of the sweeper?